1. Field of the Invention
The present general inventive concept relates to an image forming apparatus and more particularly, to an image forming apparatus capable of easily removing sheets of jammed paper therefrom.
2. Description of the Related Art
An image forming apparatus, such as a printer, a photocopier, a facsimile machine, etc., generally picks up a sheet of paper placed in a paper feeding unit by using a pick-up roller and transfers the sheet of paper to an image forming unit which has a development unit and a photosensitive medium. In the image forming unit, an image formed on the photosensitive medium by the toner is transferred onto the sheet of paper transported through a paper transfer path to a fixing unit, where the toner image is fixed onto the sheet of paper. The sheet of paper is subsequently discharged to a designated tray through a paper discharge unit.
While the sheet of paper is transported through the paper transfer path, the sheet of paper is occasionally crumpled or distorted. This situation is generally called a paper jamming situation. The paper jamming situation may occur in the course of picking up, transporting or discharging sheets of paper.
When the paper jamming phenomenon occurs, a user is compelled to remove the jammed sheet of paper. However, in a conventional image forming apparatus, it is difficult for a user to find the place where the sheet of paper is jammed, and when the paper jamming situation occurs at multiple locations within the image forming apparatus, the user has to open each of several openings/closings to find the jammed sheets of paper and then to remove the jammed sheets of paper.
To improve the efficiency of the removal of the jammed sheets in an image forming apparatus, Japanese Publication No. 2003-186371 issued to Takahashi Mitsuru and Kato Tsutomu on Jul. 4, 2003, entitled “Image Forming Apparatus” discloses an image forming apparatus having a large door unit that opens the entire section of a paper transfer path from a paper feeding roller to a paper discharge roller. However, the proposed solution is disadvantageous in that the door unit is too large and heavy, and thus making opening and closing the door unit difficult. Particularly, in case of an image forming apparatus capable of both-sided printing, a return unit is generally attached to the door unit, and as a result, the door unit becomes heavier.
Further, in Japanese publication No. 2003-330239 issued to Nakazato Yasufumi on Nov. 19, 2003, entitled “Image Forming Apparatus,” an image forming apparatus enabled with both-sided printing is discussed. Herein, although the size of the door unit is appropriate, an additional opening/closing unit and a holder for opening the paper discharge unit are required in the case that a sheet of paper is jammed along the paper transfer path. In this case, it is inconvenient for a user to maneuver this additional opening/closing unit coupled with the door unit.